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Augustin Grignon's Recollec¬ tions
INTEODUGTOEY NoTE,—At the instance of the Historical Society, I made a visit to the venerable Capt. Augustin Grignon, at his residence at the Butte des Morts, on Fox river, and spent a couple of weeks with him, from May 26th to June 8th, 1857, in obtaining the following nar¬ rative. It is here presented just as I noted it down from his lips at the time, all simple and unadorned—characteristic of the aged chronicler, whose narrative it is of a life time's recollections. It is true, that while the facts and statements are essentially his, the language, order and arrangement are mine, as are sometimes the inferences and deductions, hut in all cases with his approval and adoption.
Mr. Grignon, though now seventy-seven years old, is robust and healthy; the hardy life he has led as a trader in the wilderness, with the simplicity of his habits, seems to have toughened his constitution, so that old age does not appear irksome to him. He is cheerful, pleas¬ ant and communicative, intelligent and well read. I was pleased to observe, that he was familiar with that rare and sterling old work; Charlevoix's Histoire de la Nouvelle France, published in three quarto volumes, in 1744. He spends his time mostly between fishing, smoking, and reading the papers, of which one is Le Courier des 8iats-Unis.
I have taken great pains to elicit from Mr. Grignon a narrative, as replete as possible, of the men, events, habits, and life of the olden time. I felt that another such opportunity of securing a full account of the early settlement and early men of Eastern Wisconsin, would never again occur; a native of the cquntry, and an intelligent descendant, as he is, of the Sieur Charles I>e Lajig- lade, emphaticaliv lae Father of Wisconsin, and personally acquainted with him, as well also as with Glode, Tomah and other noted Menom- one chiefs; and with Reaume, Porlier, Lawe and their fellow pio¬ neers, a participant in the war of 1812, and in the Black Hawk war; with a retentive memory, in no wise disposed to exaggerate, filled with a just and discriminating knowledge of the men and events of Wisconsin for the past seventy-two years, and by tradition for the forty years preceding—such a living chronicle we may never expect to see again in Wisconsin. Very much of this information he alone possessed—the last of the grand-children of Charles De Langlade; and
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Electronic Publication Date

2004

Digital Identifier

TP028000

Description

Augustin Grignon was the last in a long line of French fur-traders that stretched back to Charles de Langlade, the first European to live in Wisconsin. From 1805-1835 Grignon controlled the crucial portage at Grand Kaukalin on the Fox River, at present-day Kaukauna. He therefore knew every important person and was involved somehow in every important event that touched the Fox-Wisconsin waterway. Near the end of his life, Grignon recalled his own experiences and those of his forebears, from the French and Indian War and Pontiac's uprising to the invention of the railroad and the great waves of 19th-century European immigration. This document is consequently one of the most important sources on the early history of Wisconsin.

We believe that online reproduction of this material is permitted because its copyright protection has lapsed or because sharing it here for non-profit educational purposes complies with the Fair Use provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law. Teachers and students are generally free to reproduce pages for nonprofit classroom use. For advice about other uses, or if you believe that you possess copyright to some of this material, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org.

Electronic Publication Date

2004

Digital Identifier

TP028001

Owner

Wisconsin Historical Society Library

Format

Text

Owner Collection

Stacks

Owner Object ID

F576 .W81 vol.3

Series

Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin ; v.3

Full Text

Augustin Grignon's Recollec¬ tions
INTEODUGTOEY NoTE,—At the instance of the Historical Society, I made a visit to the venerable Capt. Augustin Grignon, at his residence at the Butte des Morts, on Fox river, and spent a couple of weeks with him, from May 26th to June 8th, 1857, in obtaining the following nar¬ rative. It is here presented just as I noted it down from his lips at the time, all simple and unadorned—characteristic of the aged chronicler, whose narrative it is of a life time's recollections. It is true, that while the facts and statements are essentially his, the language, order and arrangement are mine, as are sometimes the inferences and deductions, hut in all cases with his approval and adoption.
Mr. Grignon, though now seventy-seven years old, is robust and healthy; the hardy life he has led as a trader in the wilderness, with the simplicity of his habits, seems to have toughened his constitution, so that old age does not appear irksome to him. He is cheerful, pleas¬ ant and communicative, intelligent and well read. I was pleased to observe, that he was familiar with that rare and sterling old work; Charlevoix's Histoire de la Nouvelle France, published in three quarto volumes, in 1744. He spends his time mostly between fishing, smoking, and reading the papers, of which one is Le Courier des 8iats-Unis.
I have taken great pains to elicit from Mr. Grignon a narrative, as replete as possible, of the men, events, habits, and life of the olden time. I felt that another such opportunity of securing a full account of the early settlement and early men of Eastern Wisconsin, would never again occur; a native of the cquntry, and an intelligent descendant, as he is, of the Sieur Charles I>e Lajig- lade, emphaticaliv lae Father of Wisconsin, and personally acquainted with him, as well also as with Glode, Tomah and other noted Menom- one chiefs; and with Reaume, Porlier, Lawe and their fellow pio¬ neers, a participant in the war of 1812, and in the Black Hawk war; with a retentive memory, in no wise disposed to exaggerate, filled with a just and discriminating knowledge of the men and events of Wisconsin for the past seventy-two years, and by tradition for the forty years preceding—such a living chronicle we may never expect to see again in Wisconsin. Very much of this information he alone possessed—the last of the grand-children of Charles De Langlade; and
14